At least 430 people were killed and 3,500 were wounded in Iran since the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict on June 13, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country's health ministry.
The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists.
Iran warns against US' involvement
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says it would be “very, very dangerous for everyone” if the United States becomes actively involved in the war with Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing American military involvement, which Araghchi said “would be very unfortunate.”
Araghchi was speaking to reporters in Istanbul on his way home from talks in Geneva, which failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough.
As the talks ended, Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continued attacking.
Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel’s multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded.
Israel’s defense minister said Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct 7. 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the Iranian Quds Force, an elite arm of the Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran, and that he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom.
Nuclear tensions
Addressing an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned against attacks on Iran’s nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.
“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” said Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. “This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.”
Israel has not targeted Iran’s nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country’s Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Grossi has warned repeatedly that such sites should not be military targets.
After initially reporting no visible damage from Israel’s Thursday strikes on the Arak heavy water reactor, the IAEA on Friday said it had assessed “key buildings at the facility were damaged,” including the distillation unit.
The reactor was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so the damage posed no risk of contamination, the watchdog said.
Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists.
Iran warns against US' involvement
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says it would be “very, very dangerous for everyone” if the United States becomes actively involved in the war with Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing American military involvement, which Araghchi said “would be very unfortunate.”
Araghchi was speaking to reporters in Istanbul on his way home from talks in Geneva, which failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough.
As the talks ended, Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continued attacking.
Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel’s multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded.
Israel’s defense minister said Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct 7. 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the Iranian Quds Force, an elite arm of the Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran, and that he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom.
Nuclear tensions
Addressing an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned against attacks on Iran’s nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.
“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” said Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. “This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.”
Israel has not targeted Iran’s nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country’s Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Grossi has warned repeatedly that such sites should not be military targets.
After initially reporting no visible damage from Israel’s Thursday strikes on the Arak heavy water reactor, the IAEA on Friday said it had assessed “key buildings at the facility were damaged,” including the distillation unit.
The reactor was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so the damage posed no risk of contamination, the watchdog said.
Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
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